Bashar Assad named "Corruptor of the Year"
OCCRP (Organization for Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) named former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as the "Corrupt Person of the Year 2024." Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang was also given a special award for "Lifetime Achievement."
According to OCCRP, the Assad regime has been a source of crime and corruption in the region. The Assad government has generated billions of dollars in revenue from the production of captagon (a synthetic drug), human trafficking, the theft of antiquities, and arms smuggling.
Aliya Ibrahim, founder of the media platform Daraj.com, said Assad's rule has caused unprecedented violence, economic collapse, and social devastation in the region, a damage she believes will take decades to repair.
In the OCCRP competition, more than 40,000 people suggested that Kenyan President William Ruto be held accountable for the country's corruption and social crises. However, the award was given to Assad because his crimes have harmed so many countries.
This year, OCCRP established its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. The award went to Teodoro Obiang Ngema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea, who has been in power since 1979.
Obiang amassed a vast fortune for his family through repression, torture, and corruption during his dictatorship. Ghanaian journalist Anas Aremeyo Anas described him as a symbol of corruption and impunity in Africa.
OCCRP holds an annual competition to highlight the most glaring examples of corruption and the negative impact they have on society. The 2024 competition once again highlighted the human rights and societal damage caused by individuals like Assad and Obiang.
Related to the topic
-
Malaysia has banned all ships bound for Israel from entering its ports due to the massacre and oppression of Palestinians.
-
At least six people have been killed and more than 50 pilgrims injured in a stampede during a religious ceremony near the Shirgaon temple in the Indian state of Goa.
